Lizzie and Darcy Go Skiing
by yasasif
Summary: Prompted by someone from Deshi Basara's LiveJournal. Darcy takes Lizzie skiing for the first time and has to teach her.


Darcy gazed around Lizzie's hall and tapped his foot impatiently as he waited for her to come downstairs. "Lizzie where are you?" he called. "We're going to miss the flight!"

"Honestly Will, we've got ages!" she replied with a smirk as she appeared at the top of the stairs, dragging a large suitcase behind her.

Bounding up them Darcy stopped in front of her and said, "Here, let me get that. I don't know why you wouldn't just let me pack your things for you when I packed mine; we are sharing a bag after all and I said that you could bring what you wanted over to mine," before laughing and heaving it down the stairs, Lizzie trailing behind him, resignedly complaining that she was more than capable of carrying it by herself.

"I wasn't organised… I just grabbed things out of my wardrobe. Besides I like packing for myself okay Darcy," she grinned, as he pressed a quick kiss to her forehead and pushed her out of the door.

"Where's Gigi?" Lizzie asked as Darcy pulled out into the road and sped towards the airport.

"She told me last night that she suddenly had to work so she won't be joining us for a couple of days," he replied with a small smile playing around his lips; Lizzie shot him a knowing glance and giggled quietly.

"Of course she won't," she grinned, remembering Gigi's various antics as she tried to set her and Darcy up during Lizzie's stay at Pemberley Digital. "It will be nice to have some time to ourselves though," Lizzie continued, lightly stroking Darcy's hand where it lay on his lap. "You really ought to drive with two hands on the wheel, you know."

"Why would I do that when it prevents me from doing this?" he asked, gazing at her with one of the intense looks Lizzie recognised from her stay at Netherfield and which it was now impossible for her to mistake as anything other than adoration, as he caught her small hand in his rather larger one, tracing his thumb along her skin.

"Eyes on the road Darcy!" she cried, making him chuckle deeply as he manoeuvred the car through the lanes.

"You look beautiful," Darcy murmured as Lizzie emerged from the bathroom.

"You know I love you but don't even try that; I look ridiculous Will," she replied. "I never knew it was possible to wear this many layers! I have layers _under _my layers!"

"Well I am certain that you will be grateful for them when we get outside," he said as he zipped up his ski coat. Taking Lizzie's hand he led her down the stairs and towards their boot room.

"I can't believe that you have an actual house here," Lizzie laughed as she slipped her boots on and pulled on her new gloves – bought for her, of course, by Darcy after a long argument which ended with him kissing her and entering his PIN before she could protest. "Well… I can but it never occurred to me that people have things like this... that people own lodges. Though I suppose if anyone would have one, it would be you."

"What exactly are you trying to imply?" he asked curiously as he grabbed their skis and slung them over his shoulders.

"Nothing," she replied innocently before making a grab for her skis. "Honestly Will I can do that."

"Please Lizzie, allow me to spoil you," he pouted before striding out into the snow, Lizzie running to catch up with him, "besides you could barely carry them back from the shop when we arrived."

"Well how will I ever be able to carry them if you never let me?" she pointed out as they headed towards the cable car and joined the fairly fast moving queue.

"You can carry them when we reach the top of the mountain if you insist then," he said, motioning for her to go through before him then following her. When they reached the front of the queue Darcy stuck their skis into the holder on the outside before joining Lizzie inside and settling down beside her, smiling at her awestruck reaction to the view below them as the white mountain, speckled with dark green trees, fell away beneath them and they swung through the sky. Lizzie's nose was practically pushed up against the window, her eyes wide and hand constantly wiping away the fog which her breath created on it, while Darcy just leaned back, enjoying being able to share one of his favourite hobbies with her, blissfully happy that he had Lizzie beside him and that she was his – never again was he going to let her go, and even if he couldn't feel the warmth of her body or her hand through the many layers which separated them, he knew she was there.

When they reached the top Darcy grabbed their skis, finally relenting and handing Lizzie's to her before they emerged onto the slopes. It was a beautiful day, with fresh snow from the night before covering the ground and a clear blue sky overhead, and Darcy could barely hold back his happiness at being back.

"Why did I ever agree to this?" Lizzie asked jokingly as they lay their skis down next to each other and Darcy tightened her boots for her. She wasn't going to let him at first but she quickly realised that it was harder than she had thought and had given in.

"Because skiing is an enjoyable activity?" he teased as he clipped his into place with much less fuss than Lizzie had made about hers being too tight and showing her how to put her skis on. Lizzie was petrified that she was going to slip down the slope so Darcy stood in front of her with his hands on her waist and frequent promises that he wouldn't let anything bad happen to her. Leaving her side for a moment he put his skis on and then reached for her hand. "Let's go then," he said, taking her hand.

"I think you're forgetting something Darcy; I can't ski," Lizzie pointed out as he looped his poles over his wrists.

"Don't worry, I haven't forgotten anything; I'll teach you. We'll go to one of the flatter slopes," he said. "Until then I'll help you and all you need to know is how to stop."

"And how do you stop?"

"Push your skis together like this," he said, complete with demonstration. "I seem to remember lots of instructors calling it the 'pizza and chips' procedure."

"'Pizza and chips?'" Lizzie asked with a terrified grimace.

"Yes, that is the 'pizza' and this is the 'chips'," he laughed as he straightened his skis again. "Come on; I won't let you get hurt." Placing his skis outside hers Darcy stood behind her and held onto Lizzie's waist, leaving his poles dangling at his side, before pushing off and chuckling at her surprised squeal. They started slowly, letting the other skiers manoeuvre around them as they headed off to one of the flatter slopes, surrounded by shouting children and their instructors. At the top Darcy stopped them and faced Lizzie, with his back downhill and his poles stuck into the snow. "We'll ski down here to begin with I suppose," he said with a grin as Lizzie eyed the almost perfectly flat slope.

"How?"

Darcy paused as he thought; he had never taught anyone to ski before so he was making it up as he went along and he was desperate not only for Lizzie to enjoy it but also for her to be safe. 'Teaching the object of one's affections is a far too high pressure first pupil,' Darcy thought to himself wryly. "Well I will ski down backwards like this and catch you if you get into trouble," he answered as he began to slip down the slope.

"Will!" Lizzie shouted. "Are you alright?"

"Yes, why wouldn't I be?" Darcy asked with a quizzical look.

"You started slipping backwards," she replied.

"I was skiing Lizzie," he chuckled, continuing to move backwards until he was just in front of her. "Bend your knees slightly and you will begin to move forwards," he said to her as Lizzie did what he said and started to creep forwards extremely slowly. As she gained speed an enormous smile lit up her face and she cried, "I'm doing it Will! I'm doing it!" and Darcy laughed at her exuberance before replying, "You're not exactly breaking any records Lizzie." The whole way down the small slope his arms were outstretched, his hands barely an inch from Lizzie's waist as he reassured her that he was there to catch her. It was times like this when he was able, despite everything that had happened between them, to be there for her and keep her safe that he realised just how deeply he loved her and just how lucky he was that everything had turned out well in the end; Darcy didn't think that he would ever stop thanking every single thing in the universe, from lucky stars through to karma, from fate through to God and back again, that Lizzie's feelings had changed.

He was torn from his thoughts by Lizzie crashing into him as he stopped at the bottom of the slope and she tried to stop too but failed, her body pressing up against his chest as she looked up him apologetically.

"I'm sorry Will, I tried but I didn't slow down fast enough," she said as Darcy looked down at her with a grin on his face. "Don't worry about it Lizzie, we're both still alive," he replied, most of his ability to think rationally evaporating as he gazed into her gorgeous eyes. Smirking evilly Lizzie pulled his head down and kissed him, her cold lips on his shocking him and freezing him in place even as he kissed her back, her breath warming his cheek as she pulled away. Darcy wasn't sure how long they stood there wrapped in each other's arms, his mind almost completely blank, but eventually he pulled himself together and said, "To the top again then Miss Bennet."

"It's not easy having an instructor you can't keep your hands off," Lizzie grumbled as they headed towards the small magic carpet which ran up the side of the slope.

"I can imagine that it isn't exactly conducive to your learning," he replied, "but don't think that you're making it any easier for me."

"That's good I suppose; it better be hard for you if it's hard for me," she said. "I'd better try and keep my hands off you though."

"Oh really?" Darcy laughed.

"I think we're destroying the children's innocence," she said as a knee high river of miniatures topped with enormous helmets surrounded them, boys trying to push each other over while the girls all begged their instructor to let them eat the snow.

Darcy led Lizzie down the slope multiple times, slowly moving further and further away from her as she gained confidence but still hovering a few metres in front of her and facing her as he skied backwards down the slope and she followed, shaking like a new deer on ice. Before too long Darcy decided that it was time to take Lizzie on a proper run and he led her towards one of the chairlifts, weaving between the skiers and snowboarders and joining the queue.

When they reached the top of the lift Darcy led them off to one side and towards one of the easier runs which Gigi would always make him warm up on whenever they arrived; as they reached the top of the slope (which was really rather gentle in his opinion) Lizzie's eyes widened in terror. "Remind me why I agreed to come on this trip?" she asked, her eyes widening more than Darcy believed physically possible – a sure sign that one of her panics was about to start.

"It'll be fine Lizzie, I promise. This is nothing, it's nearly flat and I'll make sure you're safe," he said, gazing earnestly into her eyes.

"William Darcy this was the worst idea that you have ever had," she replied, craning her head around his large frame to look at the land dropping away in front of her.

"I'm going to be right here with you Lizzie," he said, taking her hand in his, "I promise." Lizzie's eyes were still filled with fear so, delighting in the fact that he was able to do it, he bent down and kissed her, clutching her close to him. He only stopped when Lizzie threw herself at him and he felt them beginning to slip towards the run.

"If I'm not I am going to kill you," she said, still looking slightly dazed.

"Fine but when you make it down here complete I reserve the right to ask for whatever I want," he replied, a dangerous gleam in his eyes.

"Fine," Lizzie answered with a shrug as Darcy fiddled with his poles.

"Will, Will, Will I'm slipping!" she screamed as she began to slide forwards down the slope; Darcy sped towards her caught her before she had moved more than a couple of metres but he could feel Lizzie trembling through her coat.

"Lizzie you're going to be moving quite a lot this Christmas," he said. "You remember how to turn?" Lizzie nodded against his chest. "Good, follow me." Letting go of her slowly, Darcy began to ski slowly down the slope, taking wide turns and constantly checking back to make sure that Lizzie was alright; it was while he was doing this that he realised, although he thought he had been skiing quite slowly, Lizzie was further behind than she had been. Darcy stopped at the side of the piste and waited for her, his eyes tracking her form as she moved towards him. Lizzie was almost at his side when a young child careened past her, cutting her up and forcing her to scream involuntarily; she turned to face straight down the run, gathered speed quickly before her skis crossed and she toppled over, almost in slow motion, sliding to a stop below where Darcy was waiting for her. In no time at all he was beside her with the ski which had come off when she fell and was picking her up and dusting her off carefully, making sure all the snow had come out of her jacket.

"That was terrifying," she managed to mutter as she leaned on Darcy and put her ski back on.

"We all fall over at some point Lizzie, even the best of us," he murmured. "Are you…well?"

"Yes, just a bit shocked," she laughed weakly as Darcy smiled at her.

"Would you like me to ski behind or in front of you?" he asked and Lizzie hummed dismissively. "I don't mind, whichever you think would be better."

"Well if I go in front of you, you can follow my tracks whereas if I ski behind you I can catch you if you fall," Darcy replied.

"No, skiing in front of me is fine I think," Lizzie said, placing her hands on his back and pushing him slightly; taking the not so subtle hint Darcy skied off with her following him once more.

"Did you enjoy it?" Darcy asked as they lay on the sofa, a crackling log fire casting flickering shadows over them and warming the room.

"Surprisingly yes, in the way which I enjoy feeling kind of… permanently worried that I'm going to die," Lizzie replied with a smile.

"I'll make a skier of you yet," he laughed. "We still have a week here; by the time we're finished with you you'll love it as much as Gigi does."

"She did mention it a couple of times when I was in San Francisco," Lizzie murmured, "but it sounded like you enjoy it even more than she does."

"Oh really?" he asked, fiddling with her hair as he ran his fingers through it.

"Mmm… she told me how often you try and come back to ski here." For a moment Lizzie shut her eyes, pausing as she enjoyed the feel of Darcy's hands in her hair and on her head. "I'm sorry I haven't been skiing before." The motion of his hands stopped abruptly as he froze and Lizzie was sure that, if she had been able to see him, the expression on his face would have been one of extreme confusion. "Why are you apologising to me?" he finally managed to ask, his voice sounding strangely strangled. Darcy was all too aware of the horrible things which he had said to Lizzie that day at Collins and Collins and his emphasis on the difference between their situations, the last thing he ever wanted was for her to feel inferior; he knew that Gigi too had felt awful when she had brought up their various houses while talking to Lizzie and, though both siblings were desperate to spoil Lizzie and show her how much they loved her, they were aware of her almost constant refusal to accept anything too extravagant; it had taken Darcy and Gigi nearly two months and a lot of blackmail and bribery to convince Lizzie just to join them on their annual trip to Sierra, something Darcy was hoping to rid her of in the future – he loved her more than he thought possible but sometimes he did find himself wondering why she had to be just so stubborn.

"I'm sure you want to ski properly," she explained, "but instead you're stuck teaching me and it can't be fun."

"Lizzie, teaching you to ski is one of the most rewarding things that I have ever had the pleasure of doing," he replied passionately. "Besides, after a couple of days you'll be up to standard and then, when Gigi arrives, we can all ski together."

"Oh god Will, don't even start on about Gigi!" Lizzie groaned. "She can do _everything perfectly_ and it's terrifying! Nobody should be allowed to be that amazing! She's going to turn up and you two will look fantastic, just like those models in one of those winter sports adverts, and then I'll be there at the back rolling along the ground like an enormous snowball!"

"I'm sure you'd be a beautiful snowball though," he deadpanned, making Lizzie throw her head back in laughter. "Lizzie you need to move," he said, shifting slightly under her body.

"Why?"

"I can hear the kettle boiling," he replied as she pulled herself up slowly and he extricated his legs from hers, hurrying over to the kitchen and mixing them as quickly as possible so that he could get back to her as soon as he could.

"You really are the best boyfriend Will," Lizzie sighed as he reappeared with two steaming mugs topped with a generous amount of whipped cream. Sipping it slowly she kissed him again and leant back against his chest, starting the film and thinking again just how lucky she was to have Darcy's love.

**Like I said, this was inspired by one of the prompts from LiveJournal and the snow which we've had and my desperate desire to go skiing… If anyone was wondering, I was writing this before today's episode came out… and I squealed when they mentioned skiing! I'm not 100% happy with this but hopefully you like it.**


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